Where is your happy place? And how often do you get to visit it?
Be honest! Like how often can you escape your kids and all the noise and just have a moment to yourself. When you get that moment how long until you get to go back there. Some single mothers never get any alone time. And when they do it's months before they are there again. That single mother is me.
I hardly ever get a few days to myself. Well when Camden's dad is around I'll get a free night or two about once a month. But for the most part I'm hands on all the time. And that eats away at me. Like really. When I haven't had a break I find myself screaming at Cam for things that I shouldn't. Or even yelling at the people in my home because I'm stressed out.
I read somewhere that you should wake up about 45 minutes before your child every day to have some me time. Shower, get dressed, comb hair, eat a bowl of cereal, have a cup of coffee, whatever! Just anything before the nonstop running or talking begins. I've found this helpful. But not always a fun idea. I don't always want to wake up. I'm already lacking sleep so why not sleep until he wakes up. (Granted this does really work if you can do it).
So I've had to struggle to find something that relaxes me and also gives me time to think. And the only time I'm fully able to do any of those things is in the shower. That is totally my happy place. Generally I shower after Camden is asleep and I can stay in there as long as I want. Any other time of the day I risk him coming in the bathroom and me having to get out for any God given reason.
Now granted I have made this my happy place since about the time Camden was 2 months old. I promised myself I would never lie in this blog. And I won't. So I'm going to be honest and admit something that all mothers do but just won't admit. WE DONT SHOWER EVERYDAY! Lie and say you do....I'll smack you. When Camden was a baby I missed showers like three days a week. I mean he would be crying or hungry and by the time I looked up it was 5pm. And let's face it by that time all I could think about was sleep, not cleaning myself. On a good day a new mom is up and in the shower by noon. But after noon the day has pretty much ended and a shower seems so far fetched.
All that to say, find your happy place no matter where it may be. We all need a moment of silence and a chance to think about things that matter to us and not just our kids. We owe ourselves that much.